Moody's Cantu commits to Texas baseball program

Junior catcher could be a MLB draft choice in 2014

Michael Zamora/Caller-Times
Moody junior catcher Michael Cantu committed to play baseball at the University of Texas.

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

CORPUS CHRISTI - Michael Cantu still has two more seasons of high school baseball left, but he had seen enough to make a decision about which college he wanted to attend.

On Monday night, Moody's junior catcher verbally committed to play at the University of Texas. A commitment is non-binding and can't be made official until high school seniors are allowed to sign in November.

"I went up there in the fall and everyone was really good to me," said Cantu, who played the past two seasons at Carroll before transferring to Moody last summer when his father was named the Trojans' head football coach. "I really liked (Texas coach Augie) Garrido and the team philosophy he shared with me. I thought it was the best fit for me. Coach Garrido said, ‘If you come to Texas, they'll treat you like you're a big leaguer.'"

Cantu said he also considered Miami and Alabama before choosing the Longhorns. There were other schools in the mix dangling the idea of him playing both baseball and football in college, but Cantu says he wants to concentrate on baseball at the next level.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound righthander set the Moody school record with 2,610 passing yards last season. He also threw 22 touchdown passes.

"I love football to death, and I love playing for my dad, but baseball is my love," Cantu said. "I think I'll be able to do a lot more with baseball than I could with football."

Cantu, who played in two straight state tournaments with Carroll, hit .343 with four home runs and 29 RBIs last season. On the mound, he was 5-0 with a 1.71 earned-run average.

At Moody, he is expected to be the Trojans' starting catcher and No. 2 pitcher. Cantu, who won the Rawlings Home Run Challenge at the Perfect Game 16U Finals in the summer in Fort Myers, Fla., also will lend power to the middle of Moody's lineup. His profile as a power-hitting catcher has Cantu projected as a high draft pick in 2014. That could have Cantu headed down the same road as former teammate Courtney Hawkins and Calallen's Wyatt Mathisen, who both signed with the University of Texas only to opt to go pro when they were picked high in last year's draft.

"I haven't thought about any of that," Cantu said. "I'm going to take it one day at a time, and we'll see what happens."